A decade ago, women truck drivers sounded the alarm on a trucking company refusing to hire them because of sex discrimination. It took only one month after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit for the motor carrier to settle the dispute.
In March, the EEOC filed a complaint against Warren, Mich.-based Central Transport. According to the lawsuit, the trucking company routinely turned down qualified women truck drivers at terminals across the nation.
Allegations of sex discrimination go back at least a decade. Numerous women truck drivers who exceeded minimum qualifications claimed they were never granted an interview, while less qualified male drivers were quickly hired.
One female truck driver with 15 years of experience filed a complaint with the EEOC in 2016. Around the same time she was turned down for a job, Central Transport hired an unqualified male driver at the same Phoenix terminal where she applied.
In another case, a woman truck driver applied for a job with her male cousin. Both applicants witnessed a Central Transport employee retrieve the woman’s application from the trash when they returned to make corrections. Her cousin was hired. She was not.
After collecting several complaints, the EEOC attempted to reach remedies and relief from Central Transport outside of court. Those meetings failed, prompting the agency to file a formal federal lawsuit against the trucking company on March 31. On April 30, Central Transport and the EEOC reached a settlement.
Denying women truck drivers costs millions of dollars
The consent decree resolves claims that Central Transport failed or refused to hire qualified women truck drivers from January 2016 to present.
Perhaps the biggest hit to the trucking company is a multimillion-dollar judgment. Central Transport must pay $5.5 million in backpay, lost benefits, interest and compensatory damages. Eligible claimants include women truck drivers who were denied a job at Central Transport and held a CDL-A at the time.
In addition to monetary compensation, those drivers can also reapply for a job at Central Transport. According to the consent decree, they are entitled to reapply and go through the routine recruitment and hiring process free from discrimination and retaliation.
With the help from an outside consultant, who Central Transport must pay for, the company must review and revise equal employment opportunity policies and hiring practices. All employees who have hiring authority for truck drivers must undergo discrimination training.
The consent decree is good for two and a half years. A monitor will report findings to the EEOC semiannually, and Central Transport must provide a report every six months.
Second hiring discrimination lawsuit
Central Transport is in the middle of a separate hiring lawsuit involving a former felon.
Earlier this year, a federal appeals court let a truck driver proceed with his case accusing Central Transport of violating Pennsylvania’s Criminal History Records Information Act (CHRIA). The law allows employers to consider criminal history only when it relates to an applicant’s suitability for the job.
At the heart of the case is how Central Transport found out about the man’s armed robbery conviction in 2008. The driver was denied a job after he verbally told the company during the hiring process.
The man argued that state law allows employers to use criminal history information only from an official report. Otherwise, companies could circumvent the law by pressuring applicants to disclose criminal history up front.
In December 2024, a federal district court dismissed the case, finding that applicants are not protected through voluntary disclosures. However, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals overrules that finding, expanding the scope of protections to all criminal history information, regardless of how it was acquired. That case is ongoing. LL
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